A Duel with Darkness
by josephyacomine
Summary: Two friends are rising champions in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. But when one's past comes back to haunt him, it becomes more than just a game. But then again, this is Yu-Gi-Oh!: what else is new?


This is my first fan fiction story. I am a big fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game and I thought it would be fun to write a story based around the duels with my classmate.

Note that while the stories are fictitious, the duels themselves are not. We dueled using the Dueling Network where you can create decks using any and every card in the game, and have therefore made many decks using it. I have paired up some decks with some characters, and plan to add more as the story progresses. If you have any ideas on decks and/or characters, feel free to mention them in your reviews and I will see if I can fit them in to the story, which should be possible.

As for the ban list, we have agreed to treat every banned card as limited, otherwise we will follow the ban list to the card. The Dueling Network updates the ban lists as well as their cards so we should have no problems there. The rules used are the standard rules of Yu-Gi-Oh! and not the television series version, so 8000 life points, cannot normal summon in Defence Position, etc.

Text glossary:

"speaking"

_thinking_

_"sarcasm or emphasis"_

LOUD SOUND EFFECT

"REALLY LOUD SHOUTING/YELLING/SCREAMING"

(atk/def) = The stats of a monster when it is summoned. The characters don't actually say this.

* * *

"AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!"

The usually quiet streets of late-night Canonbury were filled with the sudden scream of pain. Just leaving the internet cafe, Tom looked up from his cellphone in response to the scream.

"That sounded like..." He immediately ran in the direction of the sound. He eventually reached a dark alleyway, the moonlight unable to shine its rays down in between the tall brick buildings. Leaning against a wall, his middle-back length brown hair matted with sweat, his olive skin covered with bruises, was Tom's fellow classmate Joseph, or Joe to most people.

"Tom? What are you doing here?" Joe asked between clenched teeth, barely standing due to the pain.

"I should be asking you that. Were you the one who screamed?"

Joe nodded, ever so slightly, before his eyes darted to the side, toward the shadows of the alley. "He took my deck." He groaned, his voice getting weaker, "That bastard took my deck."

"Who?"

"I believe he is referring to me."

Tom looked into the shadows. The Caucasian man who stepped out was dressed in a jet-black suit and tie under an open dark purple coat. His hair, which perfectly matched his suit and sunglasses, was slicked back, and his face wore an overconfident smile.

"Then I suggest you give it back," Tom said in a warning tone, "before you piss me off... further."

The man laughed, before speaking, his voice as oily as his hair. "You expect me to just hand over my hard-earned prize? I don't take decks. I win them, and I expect you to do the same." As he said so, the man reached into his coat, and pulled out a deck.

"Fine," said Tom, taking out his own.

"By the way, if I'm wagering a deck, then yours too must be on the line."

Tom didn't hesitate. He knew if their roles had been reversed, Joe would have done the same. "Deal."

"No!" The battered teen cried out, "Don't do it! He uses..." but the sudden outburst had been too much for him, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Joe!" Tom called out, but his friend was out like a light.

"Don't worry about him. As for what I use in my deck, you'll find out soon enough. The name's Maurice, just so you know who will soon own your deck."

"Tom."

"Tom? Winner of the last regionals? Oh, I am going to enjoy taking your deck from you."

They both slipped on their duel disks, slotted in their decks, and shouted "Duel!"

(LP: 8000)

"I'll start this show," said Maurice, "but I won't keep you waiting. I set a monster and two cards." The facedown cards appeared in front of him.

"My turn then," said Tom, drawing a card, "and I'll start by getting rid of your facedowns with the spell Heavy Storm, which destroys all spell and trap cards on the field."

As the card appeared, a massive tornado appeared with it, blowing Maurice's coat, but not his smile.

"Not so fast, boy," the thief shouted over the roar of the winds, "I activate Hand Destruction, which forces both of us to discard two cards from our hands, and then we draw two cards."

They both discarded their cards, but as Tom was drawing his two...

"I activate the trap Appropriate," said Maurice, "When you draw cards outside your draw phase, I draw two cards." Maurice grinned as he added the cards to his hand.

"But now Heavy Storm destroys it," Tom replied, as the thunderous winds blew the trap card away before subsiding, "and I'll set a monster and two cards to end my turn."

Maurice drew a card, "Well, not much for me to do right now, so I'll just set another monster and card and call it a turn."

"Hold up," Tom interrupted, "I activate the Quick-Play spell Mystical Space Typhoon, which destroys one spell or trap on the field."

"Well played," Maurice responded, watching his card get sucked into the vortex.

"Don't blink then," said Tom, drawing a card. "I activate the trap Gleipnir, the Fetters of Fenrir, which allows me to add one Nordic monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant."

"A Nordic deck. Ah yes, I remember now. The same deck you used to win the regionals."

"That's right. I activate Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards then discard two." Tom drew and discarded his cards, and grinned. "I summon Dverg of the Nordic Alfar (100/1000)," a small, orange, cherubic figure with a beard appeared, "and I activate its effect, allowing me to normal summon again, as long as it's a Nordic monster. So I summon Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant (1200/400)." A girl appeared, in a blue dress, with long black hair tied up, white wings resembling that of angel, red eyes and holding a scythe.

"I now synchro summon with these two monsters, a level 1 monster and a level 4 tuner, to synchro summon the level 5 T.G. Hyper Librarian in Attack Position (2400/1800)!"

The two Nordic monsters disappeared in a blinding light, and in their place stood a tall humanoid figure, dressed in white and black, with a long billowing white cape and a black and white cap.

"Hyper Librarian, attack the facedown monster on the left!"

Raising a white gloved hand, the Librarian pointed at the card, and fired a bright blue beam. A large tomato appeared in the card's place for a moment, before being skewered by the beam and vanishing in an explosion.

"Thank you," said Maurice, his cocky smile never once leaving his face, "since my Mystic Tomato was destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, I can summon a dark monster in attack position as long as its attack does not exceed 1500. I summon Sangan (1000/600)!"

A small, round, furry creature with three massive eyes and a large fanged mouth popped up, snarling at the much taller Librarian.

"How can you be smiling? I have the only strong monster on the field!"

"Perhaps, but some monsters work best off the field."

"I end my turn."

Maurice's smile grew wider as he drew his card. "And I'll end this duel. I set a card, and flip summon my Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200)."

A woman, with long purple hair, a third eye on her forehead, and dressed in a long black robe with an eye in the centre stepped out onto the field.

"Now Witch, attack the Librarian!"

"Wait, what?" Said Tom, confused.

The Witch's third eye began to glow, before firing a jet of black lightning. In response, the Hyper Librarian raised his finger and fired his blue beam. The beam easily tore through the lightning, as well as the Witch, who exploded on impact.

(Maurice: 6700 LP)

"When the Witch of the Black Forest is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add one monster from my deck with no more than 1500 defence to my hand." Maurice searched through his deck, and picked out a card. "Are you ready to see what your friend there was so desperate to warn you about?"

Maurice turned the card over, showing Tom the face.

It was the Left Arm of the Forbidden One.

"Exodia," Tom muttered under his breath.

"That's right," said Maurice, his smile as wide as ever. "When all five pieces of Exodia are in my hand, I win. And guess what? This is my fourth piece."

"Then that means..." Tom looked at the solitary figure on Maurice's field, Sangan.

"You've figured it out. Sangan's effect, as you know, is similar to that of the Witch. When it is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a monster with at most 1500 attack from my deck to my hand. And, as you also know, every piece of Exodia fits that description.

"Sangan! Attack the Librarian!"

The furry creature charged at the towering figure, and, like the Witch before it, was torn apart by the beam.

(Maurice: 5300 LP)

"And with that..." said Maurice, adding the last Exodia piece, the Left Leg, to his hand. "I win."

One by one, each of the Forbidden One cards appeared, forming a pentagram. The pentagram began to glow, and a towering, golden figure stepped out, dwarfing the Librarian. its red eyes gleamed, its grin never fading.

"Exodia! Obliterate!"

Exodia's hands came together, and a ball of energy formed. Moving its arm as if it was bowling, Exodia swung its arm forward, and the energy fired out as a beam, completely annihilating the Librarian, and hitting Tom.

The pain was unbelievable. It shot through Tom's body like a river to the sea. He was thrown off his feet and landed painfully on his back.

Maurice approached him. "Thank you for the deck."

Tom couldn't stop him. He hurt so much he couldn't move. All he could do was watch as Maurice emptied his duel disk and took his cards.

"I'll beat you, you know. I'll build a new deck and I'll stop you."

Maurice laughed. "I doubt that. Even if you managed to beat me, you'll never beat him."

"Who?"

Maurice smirked. "Nox."

"Who's Nox?"

Maurice had finished collecting Tom's cards. He stood up and turned to leave. "Ask him," he said, pointing at Joe.

As Maurice walked away, Tom's vision went black.

When Tom woke up, he didn't recognize where he was. He was in a white room, with bright lighting, that much was clear, but-

"Saint Bartholomew's Hospital."

Tom looked to his left. Sitting in the chair was Joe. He was still bruised, but otherwise looked better.

"When I woke up you were unconscious and Maurice was gone. I called an ambulance and they brought us here. That was about ten minutes ago."

"He had Exodia."

"I know."

"I tried, Joe, I-"

"I know."

"My Nordic deck, and your-"

"He has them both."

There was silence for a few moments, then Tom spoke up again.

"Maurice said he was working with someone. Said you knew him."

Joe looked confused. "Who?"

"He said his name was Nox."

It was obvious Joe knew him. The colour drained from his face, and his eyes were filled with something Tom had never seen in them before: fear.

"Are you sure?" He asked, barely a whisper.

"Who is he?"

"A name I hoped I'd never hear again," Joe quickly reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"If Nox is back, then we don't stand a chance ourselves. We need help. We need the best."

Joe put the phone to his ear, and after a few moments, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luke, it's me. I need your help."

* * *

I hope enjoyed my very first chapter! Remember, if you have any requests for decks/characters, feel free to mention in your reviews!


End file.
